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Justice News

Department of Justice

U.S. Attorney’s Office

Middle District of Florida

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Friday, February 1, 2013

Tampa Man Charged With Multiple Child Pornography Offenses

Tampa, FL - United States Attorney Robert E. O'Neill announces today the filing of a criminal complaint charging Michael Alan Klevene (61, Tampa) with transportation, receipt, and possession of child pornography. If convicted, Klevene faces a mandatory minimum of 5 years, up to 20 years in federal prison for the transportation and receipt charges, and up to 10 years in federal prison on the possession charge.

The complaint alleges that Klevene traded child pornography with others on the Internet and admitted to collecting images and videos depicting child pornography for more than 20 years. On February 1, 2013, a federal search warrant was executed at Klevene's residence in Tampa. Pursuant to the search, law enforcement seized computers, thumb drives, an external hard drive, and other media that Klevene admitted belonged to him. A preview of Klevene's desktop computer and thumb drives revealed that they contained hundreds of images depicting child pornography. During an interview, Klevene told law enforcement that he posted non-pornographic images of children on the Internet in order to obtain more child pornography. A criminal complaint is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed a violation of the federal criminal laws, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.

This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) and the Tampa Police Department. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Jennifer L. Peresie.

It is another case brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."